By JULIE ROTHMAN and JULIE ROTHMAN,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | October 19, 2005

Lee Tillman from Santa Rosa, Calif., was looking for a recipe for an Italian vegetable and bread soup called "Ribollita" that she had when she was in Florence, Italy. Anne Brusca of Columbia sent in her recipe for Ribollita that she says is a specialty of Italy's Tuscany region. The word means twice baked and is aptly applied to this dish because it is, in fact, cooked twice. Brusca says, "It is a lot of work to make but well worth the effort." I would agree completely. The only change I made to her recipe was that I decided to prepare the soup one day and then bake it with the bread and cheese for the second time the following day. The end result was a marvelously thick and delicious one-pot meal, more like a stew than a soup.

By Julie Rothman and Julie Rothman,Special to The Sun | August 30, 2006

Lisa Turner of Nottingham was looking for a recipe for marinated tomatoes with grated cheese like the ones that were served at the now-closed Palmer House restaurant in Baltimore. They were a family favorite and she was hoping to be able to make these at home. Jo Ann Nuetzel of Parkville sent in a recipe for tomatoes vinaigrette that she says she has been using since the early 1970s.

Jean H. Carcaba of St. Augustine, Fla., wrote that she was seeking a recipe for Chicken Giardino, which "I recently had at the Olive Garden restaurant. It was one of their healthy choices on the menu. I enjoyed it so much and didn't feel it was a diet meal." Susan Hitchcock of Sonoma, Calif., wrote: "I am responding to the recipe request for Chicken Giardino from the Olive Garden restaurant. I am a big fan of that dish. Although I do not have their recipe, I do have one that is a close second best.

By Marge Perry and Marge Perry,Los Angeles Times Syndicate | June 2, 1999

When you think of a meatless pasta dinner, no doubt you have visions of a jar of tomato sauce or a little olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Here are three more interesting and unusual -- but very simple -- meatless dinners with protein and nutrients galore (and not an ounce of red sauce).Serve this creamy, rich Greek Pasta With Feta with a like-minded salad made from romaine lettuce, fresh snips of dill, tomato and thinly sliced onion. You can buy feta cheese already crumbled in most grocery stores, or, to make crumbling easy, place a chunk of it in the freezer for a couple of minutes before you handle it before crumbling.

By Betty Rosbottom and Betty Rosbottom,Los Angeles Times Syndicate | April 15, 2001

Some dishes are a challenge to prepare, especially for entertaining, but if they are exceptionally good, they merit the effort. Risotto, the celebrated rice preparation from northern Italy, falls into this category. Made by stirring simmering stock into rice (and often onions, too) which has been sauteed in butter, risotto is not a quick dish. The stock must be added slowly, about a half-cup at a time, and stirred until it has been completely absorbed by the grains. This technique usually takes about 20 minutes, and the cook must stand at the stove the entire time, constantly making circles with a spoon in the pot. The resulting rice, however, is rich and creamy, with grains that remain separate and firm.

A super cake and a supreme cauliflower are tasty additions to lunch or dinner.Toni Radomski of Cockeysville requested a "Kandy Kake." She wrote that her husband threw out her recipe for "a wonderful cake topped with peanut butter and melted Hershey bars on top."Rave reviews about this cake came with responses which included titles such as Kandy or Tandy Kake or Tandy Takes.Tracy Beavan of Eldersburg called her treats Tandy Takes. She said preparation time was 30 minutes and baking time 20 minutes.

Hiltrud Tuinstra from Santa Rosa, Calif., was looking for a recipe she lost years ago for making stuffed zucchini. She recalled that it had frozen spinach and bread crumbs added to the zucchini flesh, but unfortunately she could not remember any other details about the recipe. Joann Langdale , also from Santa Rosa, sent in her favorite recipe for making stuffed zucchini, which sounded fairly similar to what Tuinstra was seeking. Stuffed zucchini is one of those dishes that has as many variations as your garden or farmers market has zucchinis.

Most would agree that some cosmetic surgery can give us the proverbial new lease on life. It applies to people. It applies to restaurants. Aface-liftis just what Chris Infantino, the current owner of Tino's Italian Bistro, did when he acquired the storefront space formerly known as Strapazza. There wasn't much Infantino's interior designer could do about the building's facade, but inside you'll find a handsomely reconfigured upscale-looking restaurant/bistro/trattoria -- in the burnt sienna walls, the wrought-iron sculptures hung on them, the floor-to-ceiling wine rack that divides the two dining rooms.

More than a decade ago, I wrote an appetizer cookbook called First Impressions. The title reflects the way I feel about the little nibbles that begin a menu or stand alone when offered with drinks. Starters, I believe, are often afterthoughts, relegated to marginal importance, but, in fact, they deserve more attention since they are the first food (sometimes the only fare when served at a cocktail party) our guests sample. For me, perfect hors d'oeuvres should have three basic characteristics.